Jim Wynn Stats & Facts

Jim Wynn

Position: Outfielder
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
5-10, 160lb (178cm, 72kg)
Born: March 12, 1942  in Cincinnati, OH
High School: Taft HS (Cincinnati, OH)
School: Central State University (Wilberforce, OH)
Debut: July 10, 1963 (9,736th in MLB history)
vs. PIT 4 AB, 1 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 SB
Last Game: September 27, 1977 
vs. CAL 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Died: March 26, 2020
Full Name: James Sherman Wynn
Nicknames: The Toy Cannon
Jimmy Wynn Baseball Reference Page 
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1963

Pete Rose
Rusty Staub
Joe Morgan
Willie Horton
Jose Cardenal
Jim Wynn
Dick Allen
Tommy John
Mickey Lolich

Notable Events and Chronology for Jim Wynn Career

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

March 12, 1949

Jim Wynn is born in Hamilton, OH.

July 10, 1963

Jimmy Wynn collects his first hit

July 14, 1963

Colts pin 8-3 loss on Mets – Full Radio Broadcast

April 13, 1964

for the first time in their three-year history that the Colts have sole possession of first place

September 27, 1964

Colt 45’s walkoff win in the last game played at Colt stadium

April 24, 1965

Bob Aspromonte is the first to set off the Astrodome scoreboard’s home run display

May 23, 1965

In the first inning of a 5-2 loss to San Francisco, Jimmy Wynn is unable to catch Jim Ray Hart’s two-out routine fly ball when he loses the ball in the glare of diffused Texas sunlight streaming through plastic panes of the newly-opened Astrodome. The play, now a base-clearing inside-the-park three-run home run instead of an easy third out, results in the painting of the ballpark’s ceiling the next day and will lead to the use of Astroturf next season because the grass will be unable to be grown due to the reduced amount of sunlight.

May 5, 1966

1966 – “13” is not an unlucky number when the Astros trip the Cubs, 4-3, in 13 innings. Jim Wynn singles home Joe Morgan for Houston’s 13th win of the season. Dick Farrell and Bill Faul, who both wear 13 on their backs, are the starters but it’s Frank Carpinwho gets the victory.

June 22, 1966

The Astros set a home attendance mark which stands for 22 years, as 50,908 fans watch Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers down Houston, 5-2

August 1, 1966

Dick Allen hits walk off inside park hr when Jimmy Wynn crashes into the wall.

May 2, 1967

1967 – Houston erupts for eight runs in the eighth to wallop the Phillies, 10-3. Rusty Staub has four RBIs. Bob Aspromonte slams a three-run shot and Jim Wynn has two hits in the decisive frame. Winning pitcher Mike Cuellar drills a run-scoring double to help his own cause.

May 18, 1967

Jim Wynn ‘s first-inning homer off the left-field foul pole ignites a near riot during a 6-2 Astros win

June 10, 1967

Jimmy Wynn hits the longest home run in the history of Crosley Field

June 11, 1967

At Crosley Field‚ Don Pavletich belts a pinch grand slam in the bottom of the 9th to give the Reds an 8 – 4 win over Houston.

June 15, 1967

Jimmy Wynn becomes the first Astro to hit three homers in one game, becoming the first of only two Houston players to have accomplished the feat in the 34-year history of the Astrodome. In 1994, ‘Toy Cannon’s’ performance will be matched by future Hall of Fame first baseman Jeff Bagwell.

June 18, 1967

Houston Astros right-hander Don Wilson pitches the first of his two career no-hitters

July 11, 1967

Jim Wynn becomes the first Houston player to get a hit in the All-Star Game 

July 23, 1967

The disappointing Pirates continue to flounder, splitting a pair with the last-place Astros, dropping the opener thanks in large part to outsize slugging by the “Toy Cannon”, Jimmy Wynn. Four of Houston’s eight runs ride home on Wynn’s two homers, the last of which is a three-run, tape-measure coup-de-grâce which puts Houston up by 8 before Pittsburgh even shows a pulse. The culminating “Cannon Shot” passes over the batting cage to the left of the 457-foot mark on the way out, putting it in the company of historic shots by Rogers Hornsby, Josh Gibson, Ralph Kiner, Dick Stuart and Roberto Clemente. As it turns out, the Pirates do eventually compete and what looked like icing will prove to be Houston’s margin of victory as they hold on and outlast Pittsburgh, 8 – 5.

July 23, 1967

1967 – Jim Wynn clubs two homers in the 8-5 opener of a doubleheader split in Pittsburgh, including a mammoth three-run bomb that lands on a Little League diamond in back of Forbes Field. Houston has the league leader in each triple crown category (Wynn 25 HRs, 75 RBIs; Rusty Staub .358 BA) but sit, as a team, in last place. The Pirates get revenge in the nightcap, 15-2.

July 24, 1967

1967 – Mike Cuellar tosses a two-hitter and notches a dozen strikeouts during a 2-1 victory over Philadelphia in eleven innings. Cuellar also scores the game-winner on a single by Jim Wynn. A sacrifice fly by Eddie Mathews plates the other Houston run.

August 23, 1967

1967 – Jim Wynn cracks his 30th home run of the season during a 9-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Clay Carroll is the victim. Wynn is the first Houston player to reach that plateau and no other Astro would join him until Glenn Davis in 1986. 

September 9, 1967

Jim Wynn smashes two home runs becomes the first Astro in franchise history to reach 100 RBIs

July 26, 1968

Jim Wynn becomes the first player in franchise history to reach 100 homers

August 16, 1968

Jim Wynn homers off Tom Seaver with two outs in the ninth to tie New York, 1-1. Bob Aspromonte’s two-run opposite-field double in the 12th wins it for Houston. Tom Dukes, who fanned two with the bases full of Mets in the 11th, picks up the 3-1 victory.

September 7, 1968

Hank Aaron stumbles and falls rounding third base in the bottom of the ninth leading to a Braves loss

June 12, 1969

Roberto Clemente’s tape-measure two-run blast ties the game at 3-all after six, en route to a come-from-behind 4 – 3 Pirate win over Houston

July 15, 1969

Jim Wynn walks during the five-run fourth, breaking a league mark with his 11th straight game with a base on balls

July 30, 1969

Denis Menke and Jim Wynn launch grand slams in the same inning for the first time this century

September 10, 1969

1969 – Jim Wynn’s homer and Denis Menke’s bases-loaded double spark an 8-1 win over the Dodgers. Denny Lemaster scatters six hits. The Astros are tied for fourth in the tight N.L. West, but are just two games out of first place.

April 12, 1970

 1970- Astros blast five home runs to trounce Phil Niekro and the Braves, 8-3 . Jim Wynn has the most memorable shot, a rocket that doesn’t come to rest until it finds the gold (upper reserved) seats in the third inning (section 738C, row 6, seat 3) . That bested his blast into the purple seats in the first. Tommy Davis, Joe Pepitone and Doug Rader go yard as well, making an easy night for starter Larry Dierker. 

April 19, 1970

Tom Griffin tosses a one-hitter in a 5-1 victory over the Padres

July 12, 1970

1970 – San Francisco’s Gaylord Perry is met by two umpires and forced to towel down before the second inning of a game at the Dome. Minus the medicine, Perry gives up five runs as the Astros build an early lead. The Giants roar back to claim a 7-5 advantage before Houston tallies three in the ninth for an 8-7 triumph. Doug Rader singles home Jim Wynn with the game-winner. 

August 30, 1970

1970 – Jim Wynn launches two homers off Nolan Ryan to pace a 9-5 thrashing of the Mets. Wynn totals four hits and drives in five. Denis Menke also goes deep twice. Don Wilson survives an early 3-0 deficit to gain the victory. Wynn tells the press that Ryan’s fastball is no match for his bat and backs it up. 

December 21, 1970

Houston Astros outfielder Jimmy Wynn is stabbed during a domestic dispute

January 12, 1972

Cedeno-Wynn-May-Watson-Rader

June 16, 1972

1972 – Jim Wynn belts a solo shot off Dick Selma in the bottom of the eleventh to stun the Phillies, 1-0. Houston outlasts eventual Cy Young Award winner Steve Carlton, who blanked them on six hits for the first ten frames. Don Wilson and Tom Griffin team for the shutout. 

June 26, 1972

Astro rock five home runs

July 11, 1972

Chicago’s Billy Williams goes 8-for-8 in a doubleheader split against the Astros

July 12, 1972

1972 – Jim Wynn bangs two home runs and drives in four to pace a 10-6 triumph over the Cubs. Norm Miller and Lee May also homer. Chicago’s Billy Williams is retired in his first time up, snapping his consecutive hitting streak, but stays hot with a double and a home run. 

July 18, 1972

A two-run inside-the-park homer by Cesar Cedeno highlights an 11-3 triumph over St. Louis

April 6, 1973

Cesar Cedeno doubles home Tommy Helms with the winning run in the 13th for a 2-1 Opening Day triumph in Atlanta. It was Cedeno’s third extra-base hit of the game. Jim Wynn’s homer tied it in the sixth.

December 6, 1973

Slugger Jim Wynn is traded to the Dodgers for pitchers Claude Osteen and Dave Culpepper

July 26, 1974

Cesar Cedeno socks two home runs

November 17, 1975

the Dodgers trade for Dusty Baker

September 24, 1986

1986 – Nolan Ryan follows Jim Deshaies’ previous two-hitter with six innings of no-hit ball against the Giants before Mike Aldrete singles to break up the bid. Charley Kerfeld surrenders a hit in the ninth as the pair combine for a two-hit, 6-0 whitewash that clinches a tie for the N.L. West pennant. Glenn Davis belts his 30th home run of the season, the first Astro to hit that many since Jim Wynn in 1969. 

April 21, 1999

Jeff Bagwell bashes three home runs at Wrigley Field and drives in six to drop the Cubs, 10-3. Bagwell passes Jim Wynn’s mark for the most homers in franchise history. 

August 14, 2021

Best Centerfielders of All Time

Jimmy Wynn, the Astros’ first slugging star. The cavernous dimensions of the Astrodome masked his raw power, and the immense value of his patience at the plate (he drew as many as 90 walks in eight different seasons), excellent defense, and stellar baserunning ability were somewhat lost as he played for mediocre teams most of his career. The speedy, 5’9″ outfielder also had an explosive bat – hence the nickname, the Toy Cannon. When he left Houston after 11 seasons, he held club records in virtually every offensive category, including hits (1,291), home runs (223), and RBI (719).

BIOGRAPHY

Originally a shortstop, the Cincinnati native first signed with the Reds but was drafted from them by the expansion Houston club in 1962. In virtual obscurity, Wynn was switched to center field. In 1965, Wynn’s first full season, he led the Astros with a .275 batting average, 22 home runs, and 73 RBI. He also stole a career-high 43 bases, (in 47 tries) in, Houston GM Spec Richardson told Wynn that the team appreciated his baserunning ability, but that they preferred he work on his power. Two years later he broke club records with 37 HR and 107 RBI, but he struck out a league-high 137 times. Seeing fewer good pitches to hit in 1969, he tied the NL record with 148 walks, but still hit 33 HR.

Wynn’s career, and life, nearly ended when he was stabbed in the abdomen during a quarrel with his wife in December 1970. He recovered physically, but slumped dramatically in 1971, hitting just seven homers. He rebounded in 1972 (.273, 24 HR, 90 RBI), but another poor year in 1973 paved the way for his trade to the Dodgers for pitcher Claude Osteen. Wynn gave Los Angeles a desperately needed right-handed power hitter and replaced the recently traded Willie Davis in centerfield.

Wynn carried the pennant-winning Dodgers for the first part of 1974, hit three HR in a game for the second time in his career, set a Los Angeles record with 32 HR, and was named TSN NL Comeback Player of the Year. Nursing a sore elbow, he spent one more season with the Dodgers before being sent to Atlanta in a six-player deal for dusty Baker. He led the NL in walks a second time in 1976, but batted just .207, and split a final, dreadful, 1977 campaign between the Yankees and Brewers.

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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Played For
Houston Astros (1963-1973)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1974-1975)
Atlanta Braves (1976)
New York Yankees (1977)
Milwaukee Brewers (1977)

Linked: Joe Morgan roomed with Wynn when the two were with Hosuton.

Nicknames: The Toy Cannon

Wynn was one of the first players to lift weights, which helped sculpt his 5’9″, 160-pound frame as “The Toy Cannon.”

Post-Season Appearances
1974 National League Championship Series
1974 World Series

Notes
After swiping 43 bases (in 47 tries) in 1965, Houston GM Spec Richardson told Wynn that the team appreciated his baserunning ability, but that they preferred he work on his power.

Hitting Streaks
16 games (1968)
16 games (1968)

Trivia: Who hit the 100th home run in All-Star Game history?
Answer: Jimmy Wynn, in 1975.

All-Star Selections
1967 NL
1974 NL
1975 NL

Best Strength as a Player
Power. Wynn was a power-hitter with few peers – he could really launch it. There are thousands of Astros’ fans who can tell stories of seeing Wynn hit baseballs all into far away corners of the Astrodome. Wynn once socked a Phil Niekro knuckler almost 500 feet. He hit three homers…in the Astrodome. It’s not a stretch to imagine that Wynn might have hit 450 homers had he played in a friendly park like Atlanta or Wrigley Field.

Largest Weakness as a Player
Wynn struck out a lot, especially early in his career, but it did little to stamp out his greatness. And Wynn was a great player.